


burn your fire for no witness (it's the only way it's done)

by Nightblaze



Category: We Are The Tigers - Allen
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Study, post act 2 but pre finale, the others are there but they arent the focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24591790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightblaze/pseuds/Nightblaze
Summary: Cairo existed to the simplest extent of the word.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 24





	burn your fire for no witness (it's the only way it's done)

Cairo existed to the simplest extent of the word.

She breathed, she drank and ate and slept, but there was a static in her head that blocked out her thoughts. She layed in bed and looked up at the ceiling and somewhere, lingering in the corners of her mind, begging to be seen again, were the memories of Riley laying here with her.

It was hard to let her go. To let Riley go.

Cairo had said that Riley was only on the team because of her. That Cairo had been the one to pull her out of her quiet loser shell, that she would be nothing without Cairo’s interference. It had become clear, now, that that was the farthest from the truth.

Now, Cairo went through the days mechanically, ignoring the whispers and the staring of her classmates. Now, they were whispering about how she was going to snap just like Riley did, that she was in on it. Now, people sat far away from her. Not even the team. Cairo didn’t blame them.

She tried to think about Riley like she’s dead, because it was harder to think about her in jail, alone and scared when she should be safe and happy at Cairo’s side. Cairo should have seen what was wrong. Cairo should have been able to save her.

Kate and Annleigh avoided Cairo like the plague. The others were less obvious about doing the same. Cairo used to hate them, and she knew they at least disliked her before, but it was something familiar. It was something fun. No matter how much they would complain about each other, it was like a game. A back-and-forth that would lead nowhere but was comforting in that sense. A constant, like Riley had been.

Cairo tried to reach out to Annleigh, first, because she mistakenly thought it would be easier. Christians and their forgiveness. The rehearsed politeness that she received was somehow worse than anything else. Annleigh offered her coffee, saying that the church would always welcome her. She did end up attending a sermon, just to see what it was like. The priest spoke about finding strength in dark places. He spoke about God’s light, about His invigorating flame of hope, but when Cairo looked up at the sky as she left the church, all she saw were storm clouds.

She visited Kate in the hospital. Cairo tried to apologize but the words didn’t come out, or didn’t come out right. Kate’s eyes were sad and red from crying and Cairo wished she could feel that just so she could feel something. Kate didn’t speak to her. She sat there silently and Cairo got the message eventually. She almost went home, but something made her turn down the run-down road that led to the graveyard.

They were buried close to each other. Annleigh’s family had lived in town for generations and Farrah was buried next to her step-grandmother. Clark was right next to her. Chess was only a short walk away, next to one of her cousins. Cairo started walking towards them but froze when she saw a middle-aged couple standing in front of Farrah’s gravestone. The woman was sobbing uncontrollably, the man hugging her from the side and rubbing her arm in a comforting gesture. Cairo turned around and marched right back to her car. She didn’t realize she had been shaking until she got home.

Losing Farrah and Chess had been shit, and Cairo didn’t know Clark, but he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were people missing from the world because of Riley. They wouldn’t be coming back. Kate was devastated and Annleigh was all but breaking down underneath her facade of faith. Nothing was the same. Nothing could ever be the same or even okay ever again.

Cairo’s family had dragged her outside for a bonfire to try to distract her with s’mores and old stories. They’d all gone inside now, though. It was late. Cairo still sat there, watching the embers smolder in the darkness.

She wasn’t exactly sure how it happened. She opened her wallet and took the photo strip that had been sitting there for months. Riley and her, after a movie in one of those stupid, overpriced photo machines. They were smiling. They were genuinely happy.

Cairo grit her teeth and threw the photos into the fire before she could stop and think.

It burned until nothing but ash remained.

**Author's Note:**

> i call this one "i am feeling some sort of way so i am going to write about cairo to cope"
> 
> hope u enjoyed reading and as always, im @mightymightytigers on tumblr if u want to send asks, prompts, or just chat!


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